Galloping Immigraton Slows to a Canter in Canada

 

"There was considerable asymmetry to the cuts to overall immigration that saw much larger percentages in reductions to refugees over the 2024 to 2025 period. It seems as though many Canadians believe that there are man asylum claims that are not legitimate, thus fuelling greater distrust in refugees."

"In previous surveys we've done there was much less dissonance and lesser distinction in either trust or positive sentiment towards immigrants and refugees, but we're now seeing a widening gap between the two, owing, in my view, to a growing perception that many claims are not valid and thus raising questions about the admission process."

Jack Jedwab, president, Association for Canadian Studies  

Compared to 2024, the same eight-month period in 2025 saw a 32.7 percent drop in refugee claimants to Canada; at the same time there was a 18.6 percent drop in economic immigrants while an 8.1 percent drop was seen in family sponsorship immigrants. This, according to an analysis by the Association for Canadian Studies of Immigration, Refugees and Citizen Canada's own data. According to the analysis "The numbers of asylum claimants has gone into a veritable free-fall." 

"We regularly see that polls produce different results depending on how the question is framed, and people's answers are also impacted by the narratives they see being replicated in the media and by political leaders."

Gauri Sreenivasan, o-executive director, Canadian Council for Refugees

In the first eight months of 2025, Canada experienced a drop in asylum claims from from all countries, except for those from Haiti, which went up by 130 per cent. Photo by Clarens Siffroy/AFP via Getty Images

 

The federal government recently announced changes in immigration policies for the direct purpose of reducing the number of people arriving in Canada. Canada's population swelled by millions in the past several years with immigration target numbers, family reunification, temporary foreign workers, asylum seekers, refugees and foreign students studying at Canadian universities stretching the limits of the country's social welfare systems and its housing stock, and most critically its universal health care system beyond the breaking point.

 

A new poll conducted by Leger Marketing for the Association for Canadian Studies saw 43 percent of respondents stating their distrust of refugees. More respondents, according to the poll, trusted immigrants, on the other hand, some 46 percent. The really interesting part of this revelation is that distrust is highest among immigrants themselves, against refugees, albeit in lower percentages for immigrants. 

 

People from Haiti claiming asylum from their gang-violent nation of poverty and social unrest, increased by 130 percent in that period. Asylum claims from Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans, Ghanians, and people from India, on the other hand saw drops from 68 to 79 percent. Airport asylum claims dropped 76 percent in the first eight months of 2025, over 2024.

 

More men than women stated their distrust of refugees on the survey question. And the same applied for distrust of immigrants; men outnumbering women. International students garnered a 44 percent trust level, while in the distrust category, once again men outnumbered women.  

 

"Immigration has become one of the sharpest fault lines in Canadian politics. Eighty-two per cent of Conservative supporters say there is too much immigration, compared with 40 per cent of Liberals and 30 per cent of New Democrats. This partisan gap is now the widest recorded since the late 1970s and shows no sign of narrowing."

"This political split extends to almost every aspect of the immigration debate – from refugees and integration to perceptions of crime. Supporters of the governing Liberals tend to see immigration as an economic and cultural strength, while Conservative supporters increasingly view it as a strain on resources and national identity."

Immigration Canada